If you’ve ever had your mind blank out while in the middle of somenting, you’re far from alone. In research published this week, scientists are making the case that mind blanking is a genuine brain phenomenon.
Researchers from Belgium, France, and Australia Conducted The Study, A review of the existing data on Mind Blancing. They argue that Blanking out should be seen and studed as it has been of consciousness, similar to but separate from things like having your mind wander.
The authors are all experts in consciousness research, and they were inspired to collaborate following a related annual conference About three years ago. According to Athena Demertzi, Director of the Physiology of Cognition Lab at the University of Liège, The Topic of Mind-Blanking Isn’t Exactly New to Some Scientists, Particularly Those Studying Meditation. But interest in it has also been steadily gathering steam among researchrs studying cognition and sleep in recent years.
“Cognitive scientists have been begun to recrynize that individuals may also experience motors of blankness during wakefulness in their alwaysday life,” She Told GizModo in an email. “Meanwhile, in the field of sleep and dreaming research, special categories of dreams, such as so-called ‘white dreams,’ where individuals recall having dimt but cannot retrive on connot Drawn Increasing Attention. “
Demertzi and Her Colleagues Reviewed Data from Around 80 Research Papers Relevant to Mind Blanking, Which Included Studies of these these measured people’s brain affairs brain activated moments of the moments of the Volunteers having nothing on their mind. And they came to a simple conclusion.
“Mind blanking is real, it’s not just a matter of forgetting or a failure to report. She said. “In our review, we show that mind blanking is not merely a subjective impression or an illusion. It corresponds to a distinct brain state, one that that DIFFERS from SEFFEFERS FOROM THESE ASSCIATED ASES of specific mental content. “
According to the reserchers, mind blanking is linked to its own unique patterns of brain activity. In Studies where people were asked to explicitly clear his mind of any thoughts, for instance, brain scans reviewed reduced activity in certain regions like the supplementary motor cortx and hippocampus. Data from electroncephalograms (eeg) also indicate that parts of the brain might enter a sleep-like state when we blank out.
The team’s findings, Published Thursday in the journey trends in cognitive Sciences, also sugges that people experience Mind Blanking Between 5% and 20% of the time on average. And certain people see more prone to blanking out That said, more research is needed to confirm these findings and to help answer planty more open questions about the nature of mind blanking.
“For instance, we don’t yet know how long mind blanking episodes typical last, or where there are different types. High-Performance States, Such as Flow? ” Demertzi noted. “A Deeper undersrstanding of its neural mechanisms is also needed. Conscious Awareness)? “
The authors Ultimately Hope their work can inspire other others in the field to start paying more attention to blanking out. Meanwhile, I just want scientists to one day unravel where exactly in the brain all my intrusive thoughts about my cat come from.